The World Outside
by RingLupine
Summary: She had been kept inside of the room for years; all she did was look out of her only window and hope for someone to see her. Luckily, James Potter had knocked Severus onto the glass. SnapeOC
1. Prologue: The Window

**Prologue: The Window**

I desired to touch, to feel; warm, soft flesh. The touch of flesh that could warm a person when one gets closer during a cold night. The touch that could make all distress disappear. I have felt a loving caress, or a simple, prodding poke; but that was a long time ago. I know that I am forbidden to reach out and touch, but I have never known. All that I know is a small room; with a bed, a small, blue oil lamp and a bookshelf. The books were old and battered, the titles were faded; but they were still readable. All that I knew of my current location was a small, hidden window. It was a few inches below the ceiling, which was high. I could climb the wooden juts and crannies that made up the most of my room to sit on one of the wooden beams. The window was right above the ground of a village, I think it is called Hogsmeade…at least that was what the She calls it.

Ah, yes, The She. I do not know her real name, nor do I know what she looks like, but I have seen her yellow, jaundiced eyes from outside of my door; looking through the keyhole. I could climb down from the beams quickly when I heard her heavy footsteps coming down from a flight of stairs. She would wake me up in the morning, but she was absent during the nighttime. When it was time for me to eat or to use the lavatory for anything, she would mutter an incantation, and I would suddenly be blindfolded. I would feel a death grip on my arms, and I could feel unsteady breathing traveling down my skin. I have tried to escape from the secret window numerous times, but whenever I would try to open the window, a painful shock would go through my body. Help me.

I have devised an escape plan, a plan that is sure to fail. I have never seen the She angry before, but I may be able to see a rather large fit coming in the next few days. I want to be on the world outside; where people have the freedom to use wands and mutter their incantations. I want to be with my parents again, to see them, to touch them. I want to go to the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that I was supposed to start four years ago, to learn magic. The majority of the books on the shelves were basic spell books, and I did have the time to memorize the incantations and movements of quite a few spells. But a few pages were ripped out from the books; when I checked the table of contents, I saw that all of the pages were about offensive and defensive spells. I hate the She.

I look out my window into the summer sky, waiting for someone who could save me.


	2. Chapter One: A Father's Wrath

**Chapter One: A Father's Wrath**

"Severus, you stupid boy." The man at the end of the table said in a low voice; his lip curling with distaste.

His words echoed throughout the dining room, through the ears of a pathetic-looking woman and a young boy. The woman turned away from the man, putting down her fork. The boy looked up from the spilled salt shaker to the man for a second and then looked down at the dull, bland food in front of him. The expression on his father's face was rather scary to look at today. His father coughed and glared at him with his cold, black eyes.

"At least you'd be going to that school tomorrow." he spelled each syllable with hate.  
"I'll be rid of you for a year."

Severus looked at his mother, who seemed to be on the verge of tears. His expression was hidden from his father; it was an expression of worry. His mother would be alone with that man for a whole year. But she said nothing to counter his father's words; she picked up her fork and began eating again. Severus looked at the both of them, and got up and left without excusing himself.

The sun was blaring down on Spinner's End; Severus was sweating because of the dark clothes that were too large (since they belonged to his father). He stretched once he stopped on the sidewalk and looked up at the sun. He sighed and fanned himself with his oversized oxford shirt. He sat down on one of the many benches and tapped his foot against the concrete to a tuneless melody.

"Sev?" a soft voice broke the silence.

He looked over his shoulder eagerly, to see a girl standing behind him. Her hair was long and red; her eyes were almond-shaped and green. She was wearing a skirt and a tank-top, with black flats.

"Hello Lily!" he said happily.

He moved over on the bench, and Lily sat next to him, smiling.

"Are you ready to get going tomorrow?" she asked.

Severus nodded and looked at his shoes, not showing his excitement to go back to his second home.

"Father seems to be happy that he'd be rid of me for a while." He said.

Lily looked at Severus for a moment and hugged him, tightly around the shoulders. His face turned red for a moment, but then it returned to its natural pallor and he smiled down at her.

"I like it better there, at least." He stated.

Lily let go, and a slight sadness washed over Severus' mind. She looked up at the sun with him and leaned against the bench, pulling her knees up to her chin.

"I hope that it's cooler at Hogwarts." She said. "With the lake and all."

Severus looked at her, a bit confused by what Lily said. She looked at him, and then did a double take.

"Oh…it's a Muggle school thing I learned." She said.

"So places with lakes are cooler than ones without ones?" he asked.

Lily nodded and sat so that she would be facing him.

"Whenever we would go by the river in the forest, the air would always be cooler." She explained.

She was about to go on about evaporation and precipitation; but Severus was not looking at her. He was staring back at his house. Lily went quiet, and as she listened to a periodically broken silence of a man screaming at a sobbing woman. She looked at Severus once and put her arms around his neck, hugging him from behind. The screams got louder as Severus' father got angrier and angrier with his wife.

"I'm fine." He assured. "Really, I'm used to it."

His voice was dry, yet choked; as if tears were going to come.

"Why is he like that?" Lily asked calmly, holding Severus closer.

"I dunno…he was fine before I got my letter." He said.

Lily looked away, but did not let go.

"You have me." She said.

"That I do." Severus replied.

Night fell and Lily had to go back to her home; Severus waved at her as she ran back to the house on the corner. He sighed and took small steps towards his house. He reached into his pocket for the key and unlocked the door. He stepped in and paused, listening to his surroundings for a moment. Everything was quiet, so his mother and father were already asleep. Severus silently climbed the stairs after closing and locking the door. He walked into his room, where his school trunk was in the center of the room. He began to undress, and crawled into bed when he was only wearing boxers. He lay above the covers, his head on an unwashed pillow. His eyes were heavy, and yet he was hesitant to sleep. But he did eventually drift off into a deep sleep, dreaming about a whole year with Lily Evans.

His mother had driven him to King's Cross Station, and went through the barrier to Platform 9¾ with him. He looked around the platform, trying to spot a head of silky red hair, but he was hugged from behind first.

"Ready for another year, Sev?" a familiar voice said.

"Yeah, I am." Severus said, smiling.

Lily looked at the haggard-looking woman in front of them.

"Hello." She said, smiling once she let go of the pale, greasy boy.

"Hello, Lily." The woman replied weakly. "Watch over Severus for me, will you?"

"Yes ma'am. I'll make sure he stays out of trouble." The redhead replied, smiling.

Severus stared at the windows on the train, and looked back at his mother. He hugged her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I'll miss you, mother." He said.

She looked at him, and her jaw clenched. She sniffed, and hugged him close to her. She lowered her lips to her son's ear and whispered a few words before pulling away.

Severus and Lily boarded the Hogwarts Express early, so that finding a compartment would not be so much of a hassle later. They sat down so that they would be facing each other. Lily looked at Severus, and noticed that he had a sullen, subdued expression.

"Sev?" she asked. "What's the matter?"

"She's fallen apart." He muttered. "Mum…she's broken."

"Yeah, I never saw her go into hysterics like that." Lily agreed. "And she has to stay with your father, alone for the whole year."

Severus nodded and tried to figure out what his mother had whispered in his ear. Her voice was broken, incoherent. Even her grammar appeared to be affected at that moment. Minutes passed in silence, until they heard the train conductor announcing that they would be leaving in a few moments. The train got noisier with effervescent chatter and greetings; vacant compartments were soon filled.

"Everything is going to be alright." Lily suddenly said. "I promise."

She reached out with her hand and interlaced her fingers over Severus' hand.

"We are going to be friends until the end, after all, aren't we?"

Severus looked at her with slight amazement. She was smiling, ear-to-ear.

"We will." He replied.

Lily's smile became more pronounced as her green eyes glittered with happiness. Severus looked down at their interlaced hands; and began to feel a little bit better.


End file.
